Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has so far failed to extend his contract in North London, and a new deal is looking less-and-less likely at present, especially with our manager Mikel Arteta skipping around the question marks.
With his current deal set to enter into the final 12 months over the coming weeks, our power in negotiations is slimming, and we may end up selling our star man in the coming window in fear of losing him for free in 12 months time.
The striker has finally revealed that he has a ‘very difficult decision to make’, opening up for the first time about his future.
‘Recently I have not received an offer to extend,’ Aubameyang told Telefoot.
‘But, of course, we have had exchanges with the club for a fair few months now.
‘They know very well why so far nothing has happened. They have the keys. It is up to them to do their work and, after that, we will see how things go.
‘It is a turning point in my career, and I will be very frank with everyone. It will certainly be a very difficult decision to make. I still haven’t decided and we will see. It will maybe be the most important decision of my career.’
Mikel Arteta however seems to to be avoiding answering the question on Aubameyang directly, replying to the question when asked by Premier League Productions: ‘We have a very clear plan of what we want to do from now on.
‘The players know where the club is standing and we are moving in the right direction.’
The new coach was then asked if finishing in the Champions League places could be crucial in keeping the Gabonese international.
‘Financially for the club the fact that in the last three years we haven’t had any Champions League it puts the club in a very difficult position,’ Arteta replied.
‘We have a structure that is designed to be in the Champions League so when we don’t have that financially it creates a lot of issues and instability. But that’s the situation we are facing. We have ten games to go, we have to go full gas and get as high as possible in the table.’
For me, Arteta is avoiding the question, which tells me he either has no idea on what our star striker is thinking, or that he is losing hope on keeping him.
Our team does definitely look to be improving under the new coach, but losing Aubz will be one hell of a setback as we go into a summer window with limited funds following the Coronavirus.
Am I alone in thinking Arteta has lost hope in securing a new deal for Aubameyang?
Patrick